Summer: Day One

Photo: (c) Jamie K. Reaser

That old stray dog, Grief, had been following

at my heels, hoping for a home in which to

rest his weary self, but today is the first day

of summer and he’s gone off somewhere.

Still, there’s plenty of company for me. It seems

that everything is a breathing thing, in some

way of breathing. Me too, finally.

What color is summer?

What does summer smell like?

And, sound?

I know its touch: humidity.

You’ll never hear me complain about that

beaded caress. I wonder how anyone could go

on alone in a world in which even the air offers

an unmistakable embrace.

So, this is it, I suppose, the beginning of this year’s

expression of Joy: nectar-sweet shades of red

exclaimed. She is scampering along, leading

the way.

~ Jamie K. Reaser, Author

From "Truth and Beauty: Poems of the Nature of Our Humanity"

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Cherry Gobbler

Art: Mark Collins
https://markcollinsfineart.com/

If you live where bears live, like I do,

you learn to look up to them. That is to say

that you learn to respect them, yes. But

it is also to say that you learn that they

are up there, high in the canopy, on thin

limbs, fattening themselves on sweetness.

Once I was hiking on a mountain ridgetop

and a cherry tree, it seemed, threw four black

bears at me: a momma and her triplets. Crash,

bang, boom, and boom again. It seemed like

a ridiculous moment and, so, I laughed as

they scampered away in great bewilderment

of my sudden, and it must have seemed

dangerous, arrival.

I called out: “If you’d stayed in the tree, I

wouldn’t have known you were here!” It

seemed like they needed to be informed

of the obvious.

And, so, that was the moment when I learned

to look up to bears.

© 2019/Jamie K. Reaser

From a book collaboration in progress with artist Mark Collins

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Faith (Two)

Photo: (c) Jamie K. Reaser

We are born onto this earth

of body. None of us has our

feet beneath us. When the

time comes to stand, there

arises the expectation that

we will wobble on shaky legs,

stumble, and fall. And, too

that we will regain our footing

for the next step. There

arrives faith. Unknowingly,

it is ours.

~ Jamie K. Reaser, Author

From "Truth and Beauty" (a work in progress)

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When the Dark Clouds

Photo: (c) Jamie K. Reaser

When the dark clouds lay thick

before you and the wind has

lifted your hair and taken it

someplace wild, do nothing.

Be no one known.

What has happened is moving

on to new horizons. What remains

are the desires withstood and

all the unfinishedness that will

see you through to the next day.

~ Jamie K. Reaser, Author

From "Truth and Beauty: Poems on the Nature of Our Humanity"

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The Creator

Photo: (c) The Daily Progress

What we bring into existence is

a celebration of the Spirit that moves

us into and through this short-lived

world. May it be joyful. And, may it

learn from joylessness to be

joyful still.

Don’t waste your time here my

dears. Don’t give it over to another.

There’s something to be done

with it that is beautiful, that praises,

that brings Heaven to Earth and

Earth to Heaven.

Be the creator. Adorn your life.

Adorn Life. Use your hands as the canvas

and as the worker of the canvas. We

must have brushes with life that break

the heart and mend it just so much.

I’m telling you to do things that others

might find daring and dismissable. So,

be stubborn about it if you have to. You

must attend to the Divine in your own way.

Don’t negotiate your soul’s longings.

Once I biked across the great terrain of pain

in little more than shorts and a halter top,

but, dear Lord, so much came of it and

still remains a manifest blessing.

I’m asking you to be true to what draws forth

smiles and laughter, to that which cherishes

and honors relationship. That’s the communion.

That’s what creates belonging and restores faith

when imperfections teach us about our humanity.

I think there is something too to be said about

singing, about how we use our voices to rejoice.

We shouldn’t get comfortable with being off key.

We must keep asking ourselves to align with

notes that are true to the heart’s intent, and

to that which inspires the heart.

The same can be said about the way we play

and about being stylish. Every act is an act

of worship, or it should be. Why be subtle about

it or satisfied with indifference? There should be

expectations of glory. The Creator never does

away with his good creation. Why not? Because

it’s no longer his. Good creations are claimed

away from us. They have things to do.

That’s gospel. That’s what there is to teach. And,

it’s with our lives that we do the teaching. So,

with all that said, I’m going to leave you with

this:

Even in our most brokenness, the choices

are always ours to make. May at least one of them

be about a love that goes on creating.

Hmmm.

© 2019/Jamie K. Reaser

In celebration of Eloise Gardiner Giles

June 9, 1921 to April 16, 2019

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